Suffolk resident Nichole Amber Garlow was among Bridgewater College’s 283 graduating seniors last month.

Garlow earned a degree in liberal studies.

L. Douglas Wilder, mayor of Richmond and former governor of Virginia, was the keynote speaker. He urged the graduates that &uot;Democracy is not a spectator sport,&uot; and encouraged them to be participants in making the country a better place to live.

Wilder was presented with an honorary doctor of laws degree.

Bridgewater College is a private, four-year liberal arts college, which enrolls more than 1,500 students.

Founded in 1880 and located in the Central Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, it was the stat’s first private, coeducational senior college.